At Rectangular Software we try to keep track of the state of the mobile market place so that we can better advise our clients on mobile app strategies. So we’re always on the look-out for the latest data. Things change so fast in this space that figures from 6 months ago can be hopelessly misleading.

I was interested therefore to see that Kantar Worldpanel today published its latest smartphone market share figures for eight key countries (Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and the United States). Based on device sales for the 12-week period ending on 5th August, the figures show that Android is the most popular platform in each of the countries, with over half of the market everywhere except Brazil and 61.2% overall (up from 52.2% this time last year).

Beyond the good news for Google the picture is more varied from country to country. Apple’s iOS is doing much better in the three anglophone countries than elsewhere. It has over 35% of the US market but less than 3% in Spain where Android has an almost total monopoly.

RIM’s market share for its BlackBerry devices has collapsed everywhere except France. In the important US market it has been all but wiped out. Overall RIM has been pushed into fourth place behind Microsoft, which is finally gaining some traction for its Windows Phone OS, albeit with a still modest 4.8% share.

The regional variation in the numbers underline the importance of understanding who your users are before deciding which platforms to focus your resources on.